Helen Gee, '04 MHA

Mastering the financial and business aspects of the health care system

"With an undergraduate degree in finance and management and 15 year's work experience as a systems analyst and consultant, I knew I would need something to bridge the gap to my desired career goal of a management position in the health care industry," says Helen Gee. "The School of Health Sciences' Health Care Administration program was my answer."

Working as a clinical reporting programmer analyst at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2001, Gee recalled the exceptional undergraduate experience she had had at Simmons and recognized the SHS's proximity to her job in the Longwood Medical Area. "It made the decision to apply to the HCA program fairly simple," she says.

What wasn't so simple was her return to school after so many years. "The first class back was a mind-blowing experience. I felt like I had cobwebs in my brain, and Simmons was an entirely different place than when I had been there as an undergrad. Once the cobwebs cleared out, I found being intellectually stimulated very enjoyable."

Gee says her professors at the SHS were accessible and friendly. "With Simmons being so close by, I could stop in at lunch time to meet with them. I found them all to be encouraging and supportive of my efforts to balance my work and family with my educational pursuits."

After completing the program, Gee was promoted to program administrator for the Institute's Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, where she oversees five direct reports and a staff of 30 people. "Simmons taught me the business and financial aspects of the health care system. Going back for my HCA degree gave me more confidence and allowed me to move forward in my career industry."

Gee's allegiance to Simmons runs so deep that she is now serving on Simmons's Board of Trustees as the SHS's alumni representative. "It's another great opportunity for me to manage at a higher level."

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